Sectional furniture construction.



Patented Apr. 10, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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S. D. YOUNG. SECTIONAL FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED APR.27. 1914.

I s. n. YOUNG. SECTIONAL FURNITURE CONSIRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED APR- 27, 19M- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- Snow r t It SAMUEL D. YOUNG, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO GRAND RAPIDS SHOW CASE COMPANY, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

SECTIONAL FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION.

LQELWM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. to, 191% To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL D. YOUNG, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have 1 invented a certain new, useful, and Improved Sectional Furniture Construction, of which the following is a specification,

which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, fully discloses the construction and use of a preferred embodiment of the invention, such that others may understand the same.

This invention relates to furniture constructions of sectional nature in which various sections may be built together to make a complete article, being placed in vertical series one above the other to any desired or required height and the primary object and purpose of my invention is to provide structure such that in placing one section above the other the joinder of the sections will be accomplished in an especially neat and finished manner without anything showing to give the appearance of sectional structure etween the sections such as the passage of light between the meeting edges of the sections, or broken .and uneven surfaces between the section parts, there being formed at the junction of the top of one section and the bottom of the section next above a joint providing a smooth floor t0 the upper sec tion and one in which no crevices for the passage of light between parts of the sections occur, and at the same time the construction permitting this has the additional function of holding the sections in fixed posltion relative to each other so that no lateral or back and forward movements of one section can occur without the other sections accompanying it; and the construction by which these useful functions and advantages are made possible is of very simple nature, not requiring the use of dowel pins or additional members of any kind to the regular structure as will be apparent on understs'fhding being had of the embodiment shown in the drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view from the front of two sections placed one above the other and provided with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the top of a section.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view from the back of and above a section.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views .of the drawings.

In the embodiment of my invention shown, each section is comprised of spaced apart ends 1, a back 2, top 3 and spaced apart front and rear bottom members 4 and 5 as shown, and the ends may each be made up of front and rear upright members 6 and 7, respectively, connected at the top and bottom by horizontal members 8 and 9, the top member 8 having its upper edge lying flush with the upper ends of the uprights 6 and 7 while at their lower ends said uprights rest directly on the ends of the members 4 and 5 and the lower edge of bottom member 9 is in a plane slightly below the plane of the upper surfaces of the members 4 and 5, the lower surfaces of such members 4 and 5, however, being a distance below the lower edge of members 9. The front and rear edges of front and rear members 4 and 5, respectively, lie flush with the front and rear edges of the front and rear uprights 6 and 7 as shown. The space bounded by the members 6, 7, 8 and 9 may be filled by a panel 10 or otherwise as desired.

The back 2 is formed to reach at its upper edge a short distance above the upper ends of the uprights 7 and at its lower edge to terminate short of the lower surface of the back horizontal member 5 a distance equal to the projection at its upper edge above the rear uprights 7.

The top 3 is comprised of a member spaced at its rear edge from the back 2 a width of the top, therefore being equal to the distance between the front and rear members. Its thickness is the same as that of members 4 and 5 at all portions except the ends thereof where it is cut away as at 11 to leave the ends 12 with a thickness equal to the distance between the lower surfaces of members 4 and 5 and the lower edge of member 9, the depth of the cut at 11 being equal to the distance which member 9 projects at its lower edge below the upper surfaces of members 4 and 5 and the width of the out being equal to the thickness of I the member 9.

In placing one section above the other, the front and rear bottom members 4 and 5 of the upper section are positioned immediately in front of and behind the top 3 of the lower section, and all of the members 3, 4 and 5 being of the same thickness, there is made a floor to the upper section having no projections of any nature, but smooth and with the surface thereof lying in a single horizontal plane. The lower edges of the bottom end members 9 rest upon the upper surfaces of the extreme ends 12 of the top and fit snugly in the cutaway portions at 11,,

there being no cracks or other apertures for the admission of light from the outside of the sections. The back on the lower section extends a short distance behind the rear member 5 of the upper section so that there is no chance for light to pass in between the upper and lower edges of the back members for the lower and upper sections, and the shoulders formed at the'cut away portions 11 preclude the movement laterally of one section on the other, while the fitting of the parts making the top and bottom of the lower and upper sections and the backs of the two sections hold the sections from forward or backward movements with respect to each other. By this very simple construc tion, the advantages provided are attained without use of extra fastening means of any description such as dowel pins, or catches or strips attached to the sections as heretofore done in structures of this nature.

The sections may be provided at the front with doors if desired, or the sections may be filled with drawers of difl'erent designs, the fronts of the drawers filling the front of the sections, or any other desired use may be made of the sections. The invention is concerned with the means of joining the sections together when one is placed above the other. A base having a top similar to the top of a section anda top having a bottom like the bottom of a section may be used in completing a sectional article of furniture in the well known "manner, these features, however, not being pertinent especially to my invention.

It is evident from the foregoing that I have provided a novel, useful and very economical and efiicient construction capable of fully answering the requirements and of fulfilling the functions as stated in the statement of my invention. The illustration, while of a complete and operative embodiment of the invention, is not to be taken as limiting the invention to the precise structure shown or in any manner limiting the invention other than as prescribedby the appended claims defining the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is a 1. In a device of the character described, a section comprised of end, back, top and bottom members, said bottom members being spaced apart and located at the front and back of the section with their upper surfaces a short distance above the lower edges of the end members, and said top member comprised of an element having the same thickness except at the ends thereof as the bottom members, said ends each having a portion cut away of a depth equal to the distance the lower edges of said end members extend below the upper surfaces of the bottom members and of a width equal to the thickness of the end members at the lower edges thereof.

2. In a device of the character described, a section comprised of two end members, a

back and top member and two bottom mem-- bers, said bottom members being located at the front and back of the section and spaced apart, and said top member having its front edge located back of the front of the section a distance equal to the width of the front bottom member and its rear edge located forward of the back of the section a distance equal to the width of the back bottom member, and said back member at its upper edge reaching a short distance above the upper edges of the end members and at its lower edge terminating short of the lower surface of the back bottom member a distance equal to the projection of the upper edge of said back member above the end members.

3. In a device of the character described, sections positioned one above the other, the upper section including two spaced apart end members and two spaced apart bottom members located at the front and rear of the end members respectively and with the front and rear edges of the end and bottom members flush with each other, and the lower section including similarly spaced end members and a top member lying thereabove having a thickness except at the ends equal to the thickness of the bottom members of the section above, said ends having a portion cut away of a width equal to the thick ness of the and members and of slight depth,

the front and rear edges of the top member being located back of the forward edge and in front of the rear edge of the end members, respectively, distances equal to the widths of the front and rear bottom members, and said end members of the upper section extending below the upper surfaces of the bottom members thereof a distance equal to'the depth of the portions cut away at the ends of the top member on the lower sec- 10 tion.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

SAMUEL D. YOUNG. Witnesses: OSCAR A. SMITH, FRANK E. LIVERANOE, Jr. 

